


The Puzzle Game

by HQ_Wingster



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Advice, Allegory, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Bonding, Everyone Needs A Hug, Gen, Hugs, If you only read one work by me, Inspired by..., Male Bonding, Not Canon Compliant, Personal Growth, Protective Sibling, Puzzles, Sibling Bonding, Sibling Love, Teamwork
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-21
Updated: 2016-10-21
Packaged: 2018-08-23 21:54:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,676
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8344243
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HQ_Wingster/pseuds/HQ_Wingster
Summary: The Puzzle Game: a game designed for two or more people to play. It's a completely blank puzzle that needs to be put together. Each piece is unique, and everyone of them is important to the big picture. Alone, it's an impossible challenge. Together, something extraordinary happens.*A legit bonding fic for Yuuri and Yurio*





	

**Author's Note:**

> I like Mari a lot. We've only seen her twice in the show, I believe. I love older-sibling characters a lot. 
> 
> /Not beta read yet/

Mari knew things. She simply noticed things that people tend to ignore. It wasn't because she was highly intelligent or anything. Mari had a keen eye and observed the things around her no matter how small or insignificant the detail was. You could say that it was her job to notice these things. In a way, it was. In a way, it wasn't. Mari didn't have to pay attention to everything, yet she did when something was on the line.

Strolling around the hot spring resort that her family owned, it didn't take long for her to notice that the resort was quieter than usual. Right about now, shouldn't someone be yelling at someone else because of something? Substitute "someone" for Yurio and "someone else" for her brother, Yuuri, and now you have recreated the typical drama that occurred at the hot springs around this exact time. But right now, everything was quiet. Even the lobby was quiet. When Mari tiptoed over to take a glance, she saw her mother diligently wiping down tables while her father played another round of bingo with the older guests.

Other than that and the few alcoholic drinks hidden under the bingo table, everything was as quiet as it could be.  _Strange._ Mari tiptoed out and went down the hallway to the guests rooms. Shouldn't loud and over-exaggerated Russian words be echoing right about now. Mari strained her ears when she stood in front of Viktor's room. Nothing. She stood in front of Yurio's room. Nothing as well. Not a speck of life in that hallway except her own life.  _Interesting._

The TV was on somewhere. Slapped on the screen was her little brother receiving a gold medal for some competition.  _Isn't that at the Ice Castle run by the Nishigoris?_ Mari squinted at the street. Yuuri stood on a podium while Viktor stood behind him like any self-respected coach. The second and third place spots were bare as Christmas morning. If Viktor and Yuuri were there, shouldn't Yurio be there too? When the camera pointed elsewhere, Mari scanned the crowd for the blonde Russian Fairy. Nowhere to be found.

If he wasn't there and if he wasn't walking around, Yurio had to be in his guest room. That was a logical step. Mari back-tracked and stopped in front of Yurio's room. Not a mouse was stirring on the other side of the door. Asleep?  _Probably..._ Mari knocked on the door. Nothing. Not even a slight stir of a sheet or a sneeze. Mari knocked a little louder.

"Yurio?"

Not a single reply. Pulling the door back slowly, a clean room greeted Mari. Other than rustled sheets and a beaten up pillow, the room was clean and undisturbed. No suitcase. No travel pack. Not even a piece of gum was lying around. Nothing for Mari to auction onto Ebay. Just kidding. Viktor's things were probably more valuable, but beauty was in the eye of the beholder. In Mari's eyes, Yurio was a little beauty that was in a rough. Tough on the edges and sensitive in the middle. Something upsetting had to happen if Yurio up and left without telling anyone. Judging by how ecstatic Viktor and Yuuri were, they probably didn't even know that Yurio was gone for good.

Later that week, Mari figured that Yurio should've been in Russia by now if that was where he went. Viktor didn't say anything about the blonde, but he did notice that Yurio was gone from the resort. He simply didn't press the matter further because the past was already done. Accept and go. That's how Viktor rolled. Yuuri, on the other hand, seemed downer than usual. Sure, he ate his pork bowls with gusto and worked his hind off in all of his training with Viktor,  _off and on the ice._ Sure, Yuuri was learning under a Living Legend that was perhaps more machine than man at this point. Sure, Yuuri was going back into the skating world because he had a clearer view now. Sure, Mari figured that the smiles and laughs Yuuri did were utter bullshit because she knew that something was bothering her brother.

How long was Yuuri going to play the game of Hide-and-Chicken? Viktor obviously knew. Mari didn't have to glance twice to know that Viktor knew that she knew. He just didn't say anything about it. Viktor was a man that wasn't tied down to the past. He accepted things and moved on because you could alter the future better than the past. It was smart, Mari had to give him credit on that. Was it the best choice to take? Not at all. The result was very clear when she observed Yuuri looking out the window to see fledglings take flight with their mother.

If Viktor wasn't going to step in to help her brother, then Mari needed to buck-up because Yuuri always did listen to her better. Maybe because her dyed hair and pierced ears had always set him at ease? Mari wasn't too sure about either, but Yuuri trusted her enough to talk about things that he even couldn't tell to their parents. So after a lot of digging and chipping information out of a drunk Viktor one night, Mari got ready a Skype call.

"Mari, it's midnight. I need to sleep."

"Sleep can wait for one hour. Trust me on this."

She practically had to drag Yuuri down the hallway to the lobby. Yurio was already on the laptop screen. Time froze. Yuuri stared at the blonde; the blonde scoffed and folded his arms. Mari escorted Yuuri over to the laptop. He didn't sit down. He focused on the minor details of Yurio's face and physical build. Particularly that pout. He  _missed_ that pout.

"Mari, what's going on?"

"I figured that you two need to settle whatever misunderstandings are between you both." From the darkness, Mari pulled out a puzzle box and dumped all the pieces out. There was no picture. All the pieces were blank.

" _Seriously? I stayed up this late to solve a puzzle?_ "

"Not just any puzzle." Mari tapped her forehead. "You two are playing  _The Puzzle Game._ Each piece is unique, and you need to use all of them. Alone, it's impossible to finish. Together, something special happens."

" _I'm logging off."_

"Boy, it took me three days to find your Skype username. You're staying."

Yurio grumbled but didn't leave. He barked at Yuri, and that was about it. As the two struggled in the middle of the night with the puzzle, Mari sat back and watched. Though the two were complete polar opposites and didn't communicate effectively at all in the beginning, Mari noticed slight changes as the minutes rolled by. Eventually, Yurio dropped the tough-guy act, and he would ask politely if Yuuri could check if the two pieces he had in mind fitted or not. Eventually, Yuuri loosened up and wasn't afraid to ask Yurio about his day or where he was. Eventually, a small conversation was being kept alive by their curiosity.

Yurio was still tense and rude, but his words weren't as harsh as his bite made them out to be. He managed a steady conversation with a few swear words, and sleep did a toll on him as one hour became two. Yuuri mostly filled in the emptiness whenever Yurio needed a break from talking, and he gave the Russian Fairy a few updates about Viktor. That was all Yurio cared about. How was Viktor? Was he healthy? Of course, he was. He wasn't a five-year champion because he sat around and watched TV.

" _No offense._ "

"None taken," Mari mumbled, raking her fingers through her hair. It was around two in the morning when the blank puzzle was finished. Yurio and Yuuri were barely awake at this point.  _Better now than never._ Stepping up to their finished puzzle, Mari took a piece off. "Puzzle pieces aren't much when you look at them. It's just a part to a whole. One small, insignificant spot to something great. Alone, it doesn't show much. But when you gather a lot together, you make a whole and you see a clear picture. It's much like with people, don't y'all think? Sometimes we can't see the big picture in ourselves or to those around us. They're scattered random pieces that need to be put together. Solving a puzzle alone isn't fun at all, so that's why you have a friend to help you discover yourself while you discover them. Interesting, don't you think?"

By this point, Mari needed to look at the boys to know that they were fast asleep. Keeping quiet, Mari returned the puzzle pieces back to its right spot. Running a wire between the spaces of the pieces, she turned on an electrical circuit. The blank puzzles lit up individual tiny dots. Alone, the dots meant nothing. Together, the dots spelled out  _FOIL._

Yurio's stubborn, impulsive, and yet extraordinary ambition was the foil to Yuuri's meek, reproachful, and yet impeccable determination.

Mari plugged her charger into her laptop and left Skype on so that the two could rest in each other's company. It was a long night. Mari was done solving her puzzle. In her mind, she remembered this moment because she witnessed two unlikely pros settle down to converse to each other properly for once. Their conversation was still in her mind.

" _I don't know if you know it or not, but I think you're becoming my hero." Yurio looked away from his webcam. "Everything was against you, but you managed to turn around and do something that people thought was impossible."_

_Yuuri only smiled. "You're my hero too." Yurio looked at him. "I don't like rivalry very much but when it's between me and you, your force and dominance on the ice while you skate beautifully motivates me to work harder so that I can stand on an equal ground to those who I look up to. Thank you."_

"Enough to make a grown woman cry." Mari wiped back a tear.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm thinking about doing a mini-series focused on Mari and her sisterly duties/relations/advice to Yuuri, Yurio, or even Viktor if need be.
> 
> I don't know yet. Let me know if y'all want to see more inspirational Mari with advice~!


End file.
